LOUISVILLE, Ky. — State champion Buford opens exactly where it finished last season, as the No. 1 team in the country, with the first reveal of the GameChanger/NFCA Summer-Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll on Thursday afternoon.
The (5-0) Wolves have won 41 straight games and 45 of their last 46, including the Georgia 6A state title last season, which was their third state crown in the last four years, and 13th overall.
So far this season, Buford has overmatched its opponents by a 60-12 margin. Its closest contest was a 3-2 victory over last year’s Georgia 4A state runner-up Kell on Aug. 15. Later today, the Wolves host No. 10 Dacula (11-2), the recent runner-up at the F.A.N./NFCA High School Leadoff Classic in Colorado.
Unbeaten Oklahoma schools comprise three of the next four spots in the rankings. Lone Grove (14-0) and Blanchard (15-0) sit No. 2 and 3, while Enid (15-0) is fifth, just behind Colorado’s Cherokee Trail (3-0) in fourth. Another Colorado school, Windsor (2-0) is sixth, Nebraska’s Hastings (4-1) and Millard North (5-1) are Nos. 7-8, and reigning Missouri Class 5 titlist Raymore-Peculiar is ninth.
Recently-crowned Iowa state champions Waukee Northwest (40-4), Adel DeSoto Minburn (37-4) and Wahlert Catholic (39-6) start 19th, 20th and 25th in the poll.
State rankings submitted by the NFCA High School Steering Committee are used to compile the GameChanger/NFCA Summer-Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll. Teams are chosen based on performance, roster quality and strength of schedule. Five states — Colorado, Georgia, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri — play a fall fastpitch schedule, while Iowa recently completed its summer season.
GameChanger/NFCA Summer/Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll – Aug. 27, 2026
|
Rank |
Team |
2026 Record |
|
1 |
5-0 |
|
|
2 |
14-0 |
|
|
3 |
15-0 |
|
|
4 |
3-0 |
|
|
5 |
15-0 |
|
|
6 |
2-0 |
|
|
7 |
4-1 |
|
|
8 |
5-1 |
|
|
9 |
0-0 |
|
|
10 |
11-2 |
|
|
11 |
7-1 |
|
|
12 |
7-3 |
|
|
13 |
0-0 |
|
|
14 |
3-0 |
|
|
15 |
11-0 |
|
|
16 |
5-0 |
|
|
17 |
2-1 |
|
|
18 |
3-1 |
|
|
19 |
40-4 |
|
|
20 |
37-4 |
|
|
21 |
7-4 |
|
|
22 |
2-1 |
|
|
23 |
0-0 |
|
|
24 |
0-0 |
|
|
25 |
39-6 |
NFCA High School Steering Committee
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